YouTube

This classic Thai snack will disappear fast at any gathering. A mix of peanuts, cashews, crispy garlic, makrut lime leaves, and chilies tossed in a seasoning mix that hits all the flavour notes - salty, sour, sweet, spicy and umami. Highly addictive!

What are Chili & Herb Peanuts?

In Thai, these nuts are called tua tod samunprai ถั่วทอดสมุนไพร. Tua means nuts, tod means fried, and samunprai means herbs. You can find these sold all over Thailand in little baggies or little tubs. And I've had many requests for the recipe from people who fall in love with them during their vacation in Thailand!

Iconic Thai herbs such as lemongrass, makrut lime leaves, garlic and chilies are first fried until crispy, and then the peanuts and cashews are fried in the herb-infused oil. The classic Thai ones are simply tossed with salt, but I like to make a "tom yum" flavour which is salty, sweet, sour, spicy and umami!

Ingredients and Notes

Here are all the ingredients you'll need and important notes about them. For amounts, see the the full recipe card below.

seasonings and herbs needed for herb nuts recipe.

Raw peanuts, preferably skin-on. While you can make these with blanched peanuts, the skins do make them look better and the added fiber is a nice bonus. They also tend to taste better in my experience. Skin-on peanuts are available at most Asian grocery stores, and you'll probably see a few different types being sold—they're not all the same! My preferred peanuts are the smaller ones with the brightest red skins. Typically, they will also cost more than other types, but really not by much.
Raw cashews. These are optional, but I find they really make the whole mix look and taste better! If raw cashews are not available at Asian stores, look for them at health food stores, and check the bulk section. You can also substitute other nuts, such as almonds, however, I have not personally tried them so you will need to experiment with frying time.
Large cloves of garlic, we will be making garlic chips so we need large cloves for the most substantial chips.
Makrut lime leaves. Frozen is okay for this, but be sure to dry them very well after they thaw as we will be frying them, and any water left on them will splatter aggressively in the oil.
Lemongrass
Small dried chilies, optional. While these are optional, they do make the mix look so much prettier so I like to add them even if I don't end up eating them. Once the chilies are fried they will be crispy and edible if they're not too spicy for you. I get the generic dried chilies from Chinese grocery stores which tend not to be very spicy, but if you want spicy, arbol chilies from Latin American stores will work.

Note: You do not have to use all the herbs, so don't sweat it if you can't get everything. But the fewer herbs you use the less flavourful they become, so I would at the very least have the garlic, and my second priority would be the makrut lime leaves.

Seasoning Mix (Tom Yum Flavour)

The classic version of these are simply tossed in salt, which you can absolutely do, but I prefer the more interesting "tom yum flavour" which I highly recommend you try!

Salt. My recipe uses table salt, but you can use whatever salt you have, keeping in mind that larger grains such as Kosher salt measure differently, so check some online conversions to get the right amount.
Sugar. The balance of sweet and salty is what makes these nuts incredibly addictive!
True Lime brand lime juice powder. I specify the brand only because I have tried another brand (generic from a specialty food store) that was rather awful, and I have not seen any other brand here, though in Thailand Knorr also makes one. I love using lime juice powder as a way to add acidity and lime flavour when I don't want the liquid, and as a backup for when I'm out of fresh limes. I see True Lime sold in little packets at the supermarket, or you can also buy them on Amazon. I also use True Lime powder in my zingy and spicy Thai "Wing Zabb" recipe which I highly recommend!
Chicken bouillon powder (optional). This is the secret to all your Asian aunties' delicious cooking! Chicken bouillon powder (most commonly Knorr brand) is a very commonly used ingredient in Asia, including Thailand. In our nut mix, it adds a the umami factor that other seasonings don't.
Chili powder, optional, to taste. If you want the nuts to be spicy, add whatever kind of chili powder that you have on hand, though be careful with adding too much because a large amount of chili powder will dilute the other seasonings, so keep the amount no more than 1-2 teaspoons only.

How to Make Thai Chili Lime Peanuts

Here's a bird's eye view of the process. The full instructions are in the recipe card below, and if this is your first time, I highly recommend watching the video tutorial to ensure success!

process shot for making Thai herb nuts steps 1-4

Thinly slice garlic as evenly as you can; I recommend using a mandolin for this if you have one.
Dry the makrut lime leaves if needed so they are 100% dry. Fold each leaf in half and pull out the centre rib.
Tear the halves in half again, so for each leaf you will get 4 pieces.
Thinly slice lemongrass on a diagonal; no need to be precise here as we will not eat the lemongrass

process shot for making Thai herb nuts steps 5-8

Combine all the seasonings into a coffee grinder and grind into a powder.
Add about ¾ inch of frying oil into a wok or pot, then add 1 piece of garlic as you test piece. Once it starts to bubble, add the rest of the garlic.
Fry the garlic on low heat, stirring constantly, until they are golden (not brown) and the bubbling has almost completely stopped. Don't let them brown or they will be bitter. Drain on paper towel.
Fry the lime leaves on low heat until the bubbling stops, this should only take about 10 seconds. Remove and drain on paper towel.

process shot for making Thai herb nuts steps 9-12

Fry the lemongrass just until the bubbling has subsided significantly, but no need to wait for the bubbling to stop. Remove and discard as they are for infusion only.
Fry the chilies for about 15 seconds, stirring coostantly, just until they darken slightly. Remove and drain on paper towel.
Turn the heat up to medium and let the temperature come up to 350°F (175°C). Fry the peanuts until the are golden, about 7-9 minutes depending on the size. If peanuts have skins on, check the colour of ones that have split open. Do not let them brown or they will be bitter. Remove and drain on a paper towel lined brownie pan or casserole dish.
Fry the cashews until golden, 3-5 minutes. Remove and add to the peanuts to drain.

process shot for making Thai herb nuts steps 13-16

Pull the paper towel out from under the nuts.
While the nuts are still warm and oily, sprinkle the seasoning over the nuts evenly, then stir until they're all evenly coated.
Add the fried herbs and toss again to coat.
Wait until the nuts cool completely before eating. Enjoy!

Pro Tip: The Secret to Crispy Garlic

Of all the things you need to fry, the trickiest thing to get right is the garlic chips, and a common issue people have is the garlic chips nice and golden... but not crispy.

In order for something to become crispy, it has to lose most of its moisture, and this takes time. So if your heat is too high, the garlic will quickly reach temperature where it can brown, and the moisture will not have had enough time to evaporate, hence soggy garlic chips. The key is LOW heat, so there's plenty of time for the moisture to evaporate, but not so low that the garlic never turns any colour and becomes oil-sogged.

How do you know the moisture is gone? The bubbling! Bubbling of fried foods is due to water in the food evaporating. So as you fry the garlic, you'll notice that the bubbling decreases as the moisture runs low. The garlic is crispy once there is almost no bubbling left.

With the right heat, the bubbling of the garlic should be moderate, not super weak but not aggressive (see the video for a visual). And if you do it right the bubbling should start to die down before the garlic develops any colour, so by the time the garlic develops colour, the bubbling will be almost gone. It can take some trial and error to figure out the perfect heat setting, but I'd recommend starting , of your particular stove, so don't be discouraged if you fail the first time!

Storage

These nuts will last at least a couple of weeks in an airtight container, at room temperature. What can go bad is the oil which can go rancid, and this happens faster when the nuts are exposed to air, sunlight, and heat. So to make them last longer, keep the nuts in an airtight container, and stored in a cool place and away from direct sunlight.

The other issue to watch out for is the herbs losing their crispiness, which will happen if they are exposed to moisture for a long time. So if you live in a warm, humid place, and you want these to last to for a long time, you can also keep most of the nuts in the fridge, and keep a small container outside and refill as needed.

But let's face it, they are so good they won't last long!

Save this recipe!

We can email this post to you, so you can come back to it later!

FAQ: Can these be baked instead of fried?

While the nuts can be baked in theory, remember that the key technique here is frying the herbs in the oil that we use to fry the nuts, and then the nuts will pickup flavour from the oil. Baking will cook the nuts...but they won't have all those wonderful flavours!

Frying also coats the nuts with oil which helps the seasoning powder stick better, so if you do decide to bake them, make sure you toss them in a light coating of oil after they are cooked.

Before you start, if this is your first time, be sure to watch the video tutorial to ensure success!